{Dreamcatcher} How To Avoid Creative Jealousy (by Dusty Hegge)

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Catching dreams, following them, and empowering each other is what the Dreamcatcher series is all about. Today I’m welcoming back Dusty Hegge to share some ways to fight the jealousy creatives often feel.

Jealousy is subtle and powerful. It weakens like Superman’s kryptonite, destroying our God-given worth and strong self-image. It doesn’t matter if it’s Instagram or Pinterest, a killer piece of art or the perfect outfit—I tend to get jealous, and fast. What happens next is comparison and a total creative shutdown. So, how do we fend off jealousy and maintain our fountain of inspiration?

Five Ways To Banish Creative Jealousy

Share and promote her work.This is the easiest (and maybe the most effective) way to ward off jealousy. When you click Share you take the spotlight off yourself and put it on the maker or creative you admire. Don’t just share: promote! Tell the world how beautiful and well-crafted her products or words are. Go ahead and toot someone else’s horn!

Get to know her story. Read her About page, learn about her process and invest time into understanding what drives her. When you get to know someone, you start to see them as a person and not as an object of competition and comparison.

Say hello! Don’t just stop at learning her story. Take it a step further and say,”Hi!” Chances are this person would love to hear from an admirer. We all need affirmation to remember that what we are making has value. Tell her that.

Are you both makers? Collaborate! Things to consider when you are contemplating joining forces with another creative are: will our brands work cohesively together? Does her mission and vision reflect core values similar to yours? Do your styles share similarities? If you are trying to stifle a flare of jealousy, then the answer is probably a resounding YES! So, why not work together? Maybe that means hosting a giveaway together, writing a blog series as a team, or simply asking her advice. Connect with this person on a creative level and improve each other!

Refocus. In an instant, a tinge of jealousy can grow into idolatry. It’s good to admire other creatives and emulate what they are doing. Go ahead, be inspired. Whatever you do though, don’t confuse someone else’s work with your own worth. Tweet ThisInstead, refocus and look through the lens of gratitude at the gifts and talents God has given you. No one is an expert right from the start! Be intentional with what you make and continue challenging yourself and taking risks.

Jealousy doesn’t have to weaken our creativity. It’s the signal to stop what we’re doing and shine the light on someone else. We’ll make new friends and change our own hearts in the making.

Creative Challenge

When was the last time you were jealous? Take note of what triggered it. What is one step you can take right now to refocus your jealousy someone else’s inspiration?

It’s not too late to take part in last week’s challenge by sharing what you love about someone else’s work on social media. Be sure to include the hashtags #DreamcatcherSeries and #waketomake. We’ll include your name and a link to your website in next week’s post. Thanks to Emily Conrad who shared in last week’s challenge by giving a shout out to fellow creatives Jerusha Agen and Kelsey D.M. Anderson.

Prayer

God, help us when we feel jealousy creeping into our hearts. Enable us to stop and be grateful for how You’ve gifted us. Make us sharers and collaborators—champions for beauty and encouragers of one another.

Dusty Hegge is an artist and blogger from Portland, Oregon. She recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Her personal goal is to empower women to cultivate a relationship with God that is undaunted by fear and failure. Check out her blog at Throwing Pinecones. She loves to garden and fights sex trafficking through the Rubies Project.

Dreamcatcher Series

Dreamcatcher is a series about being created to create. Making spiritual things. Will you follow us on this journey? Into the creating, the making, the exploring, and discovering, the finding, the knowing, the reaching. The only thing you have to be is you. Check out all the posts here.